People are posting pages of tweets and comments from Qanon supporters that express their anxiety for a resolution to their fears and their grief over losing family members. I want to speak to that briefly.

The people sharing these curated comments, in attempt to humanize people that many of us are frustrated & angry with, are correct about something: we can show compassion to people who have been deluded by these conspiracies.

However...

I think they're mistaken about something. They seem to think that reaching out compassionately to these conspiracists, now that they've lost & been proven wrong, will start to heal the rift.

I doubt it's going to be that easy, if it's even possible.

First of all, here's the convenient thing about conspiracies: the true believers are never wrong. If evidence comes out proving something they believe, great! If evidence comes out proving them wrong, it's simply an attempt by shadowy powers to lead the masses astray.

Even if the conspiracists' honored leaders fall or backtrack or betray them, they wave it away with the explanation of "They're being held hostage. The deep state got to them."

In other words, EVERYTHING is twisted into proof that the conspiracy is real.

E V E R Y T H I N G

That's why it's so hard to pull people out of conspiracy thinking. It's exciting, like a mystery you have to uncover. You invest a lot of time in it, so you don't want to let it go. It offers convenient, black-&-white explanations to everything you see. And you're never wrong.

I DO sympathize with the people crying in comment threads about their anxiety & loneliness. But you know what other group of people does that, too?

Addicts.

I see it in their comments. Business owners so obsessed with watching Q YouTube videos that they can't even run their business properly. People who can't have a single conversation without ranting about what they've learned. People literally NOT SLEEPING b/c of this stuff.

As a person who has struggled with OCD and anxiety, I get it. I know how it feels to be so consumed that I can't eat or sleep or function.

The difference is, I saw that it was unhealthy and chose to get help.

All of these Q supporters weeping in these comment threads have a choice. They can admit that being a part of this group isn't healthy. They can leave and try to mend relationships with their families. They can get counseling and even meds, if they need them.

The thing is, they CHOSE the conspiracy life over their families...and continue to do so. Over their spouses, jobs, kids, grandkids, friends & whole communities. Even over social and political stability.

They could make different choices if they wanted.

I've seen addicts do the same thing. They choose drugs, sex, alcohol, etc. over their marriages, kids, jobs & friends. They cross boundaries, put people in harms way, neglect relationships, and then cry about how everyone has abandoned them.

Some addicts see the light at this point & get help.

The unrepentant ones continue to cry about how hard and unfair life is. They want all the perks of a healthy life without having to do the healthy behavior that makes it possible. They want enablers.